Colour + Colour

Three Chairs with a Section of a Picasso Mural (1970)
David Hockney

"Anything simple always interests me" - Hockney

Following a rather beautiful week of blue skies and gentle sunshine, the weather decided to mix things up with a sustained downpour of rain yesterday. As I was curled up inside, reading to the lyrical rhythm of rain drops on the window, I imagined the vast sea of black umbrellas and dark rain jackets outside. Whilst the majority seem to feel that the dreary grey days of rain require equally sombre outfits, I always find that the best outfit for me is a colourful one. This is especially the case during spring days of rains, where one would otherwise be donning quite a bright colour palette.

Whilst thinking through the colour combinations I could achieve with my wardrobe, I also tried to picture the more unusual colour clashes and complimentations I could possibly try. I am a definite fan of colourful clothing, however I rarely go the full step, for example including brightly coloured trousers also. As such, when I vaguely remembered the rather colourful Spring '05 collection, by Christopher Bailey for Burberry Prorsum, I decided to go back and look through the bright Pop inspired colour pairings.

What I found so beautiful about the collection was Bailey's unapologetic use of colour and the clear sense of joy in his designs. There was a wonderful cascade of vivacity, with his clever use of grassy greens, blazing oranges, fluorescent yellows, hot pinks and more, presented on canvases of ice whites in order to give them all a greater visual boost. The simplicity of the designs and elegance of the cuts allowed the loud colours to have a more refined nature, and indeed that is one of the reasons that the collection worked so well. Rather than being overpowering on the eye, the collection managed to be wonderfully colourful yet well coordinated.

Another point of intrigue for me was also the treatment of fabrics. The garments were crafted from cottons, leathers, and in the case of the last look, paper, yet all had a softness and light weight look. Indeed the colouring of the pieces, and visual weight of the fabrics, lended the looks to seeming as if they could have ostensibly been cut out of a bright Pop painting. Yet the crafting of the garments allowed the clothing to create a visual depth that one would perhaps have not thought possible with the use of block colour.

There is something wonderfully reassuring about the collection that for me shows that colourful clothing is perhaps not as scary a thought as many believe it to be.

Currently playing: Who Knows ft. Mike Posner - Big Sean

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